Triple Security unveiled for Kadayawan festivity

Compared to the security of Araw ng Dabaw celebration last March, the security is tripled for Kadayawan Festival Public Safety and Command Center Ret. Gen. Benito De Leon said on I-Speak Thursday.

“We have involved for this celebration not only the offices in Davao city but also other national and regional security offices to help us secure the Kadayawan Festival,” said De Leon.

He said the city Mayor ordered them to over-prepare to ensure the tight security for the Kadayawan. “There are 23 agencies (securing the celebration) including the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) , Philippine National Police (PNP) , National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Coast Guard and all other units that have come together,” De Leon added.

The security of Kadayawan this year has been heightened not only because of martial law but also because of the number of security forces deployed. “We could not sacrifice security for the people to enjoy the celebration and to ensure the success of the festival,” De Leon added.

The Executive Committee is hoping that the number of people coming for the festival will continue to go up. According to Generose Tecson, Davao City Tourism Operations Officer, the occupancy rate of the hotels from August 17 onwards is 85 percent.

“We are hoping that if hindi man mapantayan yung number of arrivals from last year which was around 160,000 and sana masobrahan natin,” Tecson said.

She said promotion has been in Visayas and Mindanao area because these areas can understand the situation in Davao, though nationwide promotion is underway. Billboards and schedule of activities is being put up to encourage the people to join the celebration.

The security plan is under improvement to ensure the safety of the people. The security concerns of the event organizers are also taken into consideration. From the very beginning the Executive Committee worked hand in hand with the Security Forces in fact they are also a member of the Executive Committee. “So everytime na nag pplano pa lang ni rereffer lahat sa kanila.” said Genrose Tecson from the City Tourism Office. During their last ExeCom meeting they presented their plan to the security forces for them to make a security plan but to their surprise the security forces already had something ready. Hon. Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio ordered the ExeCom to ensure the safety before anything else.

Aside from the official events that the city will be hosting, there also other events that such as parties and rave so to ensure the safety of the people that will be attending this events they required the organizers to present their security plans and hire extra guards, this is to guarantee the people that the security forces of the city won’t be stretched out. The Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSCC) will approve their security plan.